On E-Reading

My passion is literacy. This is no surprise to any of you who know me in the real world or in the virtual one. However, if I were to give a definition to this passion, I would have to say that my real passion is adolescent literacy – what do kids read, write, view, listen to, and speak about and more importantly what will get them to read (more), write (more), view things differently and even critically, listen critically, and express themselves clearly.  I’ve spent 19 years in the classroom observing young adolescents and literacy and honing my pedagogy to help them become lifelong readers, writers, and consumers of knowledge. I’ve sought graduate degrees in this field, and I’m currently writing my dissertation about this topic. You may say I’m an expert, but I’m not the only one… (to badly paraphrase John Lennon), and John Lennon and the rest of the Beatles is where I want to begin today.

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Mentor or Teacher?

Monday will start my first full day sitting and watching someone else teach my class. I’m not sure how I feel about this. In theory, I’m pretty excited because I get to shape the next generation of teacher. In theory, I can use my 19 years of experience, my knowledge of young adolescents, my knowledge of literacy – both best practices and theory – to help mold this young teacher-to-be. That thought alone is pretty awe-inspiring. So what could be wrong with that?

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Cloudy with a Chance of Flurries

The blizzard has slowed to flurries with an occasional snow squall. I am happy to report that aside from the book I’m listening to on Audible, I am only reading one book at the moment. And while I want to start a whole bunch of new books, I’ve just started a new pile. This pile is really just my TBR (to be read) in an ordered list instead of  the books sitting nicely in no particular order on my bookshelves or in bags on the floor. Sadly, I have outgrown bookshelf space in my office, and my YA are relegated to the floor since they are transient anyway. My house is one stop before my classroom and then my students’ hands. I don’t devote a lot of shelf space to them. They get the floor.

This month alone I’ve read 14 books, and 10 of them were YA and another two could cross over from adult to YA. Book number 15 is on the coffee table. The cold and snow has helped me read this many books. But quite honestly, good writing has keep me reading.

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Book Blizzard

In a bizarre twist of fate two things are happening: 1)I’m writing a mid-week blog post & 2)I’m having a problem controlling the books I’m starting. Does this mean that the East Coast might finally be getting some snow? Is it a sign the world is going to end in 2012? I don’t know. Nor do I care. I declare the Reading Funk officially over! (for now)

Posted in Independent Reading/SSR/Reader's Workshop, Random Musings | Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , ,

In which the blogger finds herself in a reading funk

I’m in a funk. I suppose it’s that time of the year. I feel like I live in darkness. I go to work in the dark; I drive home in the dark. And if it’s not raining (thankfully, the snow’s held off this winter), I get a few beams of sunlight through my classroom windows in the morning, but it’s still not the bright light of spring or the intense light of summer. I miss the sun. And unfortunately when I get in a funk, I get in a funk about everything.

I stand in the kitchen, and I don’t know what I want to eat. I sit with the TiVo list and stare at what I’ve recorded, not knowing what I want to watch. I pick up a book, and I’m only lukewarm about it because I don’t know what I want to read. I’m in a funk.

Of course, I’m blaming my reading funk on the weather. Some people might say it’s because I read too much. I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think I’m just simply bored with all the YA I’ve been reading. I’m tired of vampires. I’m tired of werewolves and shape shifters. I’m tired of whining girls and buff boys and absent parents. I’m just tired.

Posted in Random Musings | Tagged as: , , ,
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